Fury's Fusiliers
Fury's Fusiliers are a mercenary command in 3060. Founded 3054, the Fusiliers have continued to uphold their commander's belief in the Lyran state. Loyal to Victor Steiner-Davion, the Fusiliers have seen 7 years of battle against Clan foes, and have pledged to return the Commonwealth to those who rightfully deserve it. 'Unit History' Founded in 3053, Fury’s Fusiliers began their existence with little more than hopes and dreams. Theodore, born on Benfled in 3028, was the heir to the Baron of Benfled. Though a minor nobility, Theodore’s father used his position as CFO of Quikscell Company on Pandora to get Theodore into the best military academies. He graduated top of his class and attended the Royal New Capetown Military Academy at the age of 17. Given the high level of cooperation between the two halves of the soon to be Federated Commonwealth, top cadets were exchanged by the top military academies and Theodore soon found himself at the newly updated NAIS College of Military Sciences. After graduating, again, near the top of his class, Theodore was transferred to the 10th Lyran Guards in 3048. Marshal Kelly Devers gave Captain Fels the command of 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion “Fusiliers”. After an uneventful tour of duty, Theodore found himself at the front lines of the coming Clan War. Sent to Sudeten and Twycross, Kommandant Fels led his battalion against the Jade Falcons at Twycross, earning 3 confirmed kills in his Banshee 3-S. The Fusiliers had the lowest casualty rate of the battle, and Theodore was given the Federated Commonwealth Star by Archon-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion. In 3051, tipped off by ComStar of Victor Steiner-Davion’s arrival on Alynia, Theodore was caught off guard by the Falcon’s tenacity. He led a rear-guard action protecting retreating members of the 78thDonegal Calvary Regiment, and earned the tank regiment’s admiration. Theodore was brought down by the Falcons, rescued by the 78th Donegal, and lifted off planet not regaining consciousness. Theodore’s Banshee was recovered from the battlefield, though with a missing leg and with its left torso torn out by Elementals. It was upgraded with the latest technology to a 5-S variant while he recovered on Port Moseby. Theodore awoke on Port Moseby without a command and without a friend. The Prince had to deal with his growing political responsibilities and the 10th had a Clan to fight in his absence. It was not until after the Battle of Tukayyid that Theodore was cleared for duty and given a new command. Given his family connections to the Tamar Pact, he found himself beginning again with the 3rd Royal Guards RCT. Though a prestigious command, the 3rd was not immune to the Steiner bureaucracy, and Theodore became disenfranchised. With no Clan War to consume him, his thoughts fell to his home planet, Benfled. The commander of the 3rd, Harrison Bradford, was obviously inept, and Theodore was constantly butting heads with the Hauptmann-General. Given the level of fighting he’d seen, and his distaste for the “Social General”, Theodore was discharged from the AFFC and returned to Pandora. His father was safe on Pandora, but most of Theodore’s family was caught on Benfled, including his cousin, Tony Bernson, who was taken bondsman after losing the Trial of Possession for Benfled. Not willing to leave his homeland in the hands of the Steel Vipers, a Clan known even then as ruthless, Theodore began a plan to take his fight back to the Clans. Reaching out to the commander of the 78th Donegal Calvary, Theodore convinced Col. Koenig to join him with his ancient SturmFeur, and he brought the beginnings of the Benfled Rangers with him. Theodore used his father’s connections again to build a reinforced mixed company of 2 lances of BattleMechs and 2 lances of heavy Armor. He recruited from now orphaned Lyrans, ex-veterans, and simple help wanted HPG-pulses to get enough warriors to join his cause. Theodore was able to procure a Union-class Dropship and modified it to carry the Rangers. On July 25, 3053, Theodore arranged to get dropped off by merchant Jumpships. The JumpShips then left the unit to their own devices. Burning to the planet, Theodore was able to get close to the planet by imitating lost merchants, and then surprised the Steel Vipers by dropping onto the planet. The Rangers ran a hit and run operation, never allowing the Clans to get within striking distance of his entire command, and was able to get to the capital of Duschene. There, he found some of his missing family members and refugees. Leading the convoy out of the city, Theodore was finally drawn into a prolonged battle. He lost 3 of his friends in the operation, but had struck back at the Clans. Lifting off planet, Theodore had rescued almost 150 people and gained a reputation as a quick thinker. With their mission completed, some Rangers left Theodore, but enough stayed. Wanting to honor their commander, the remaining Rangers voted to change their name. Fury’s Fusiliers were born. Given his personal connection to Archon-Prince Victor, Theodore surprised no one in taking a mercenary contract with the Federated Commonwealth. The Fusiliers used this time to work on unit cohesion and group tactics. Their MRBC rating went up from a C- to B+ in this time. The company had no true action on the world of Pandora, but quickly raised capital from personal and professional ventures. Along with the 10th FedCom and 4thDavion RCTs, the Fusiliers kept the Pandoran supply lines open. In 3057, though, the Fusilier’s universe changed forever. With Katherine Steiner-Davion’s proclamation of a “new Lyran alliance,” the Fusiliers were left with a problem. Most of the unit, and Theodore himself, were loyal to the Lyran state, but Theodore knew Prince Victor. While he would stay loyal to Victor, Theodore felt he had no right to force his staff to fight against their homes, and announced on June 20th, that any member who wished to go home could do so with Theodore’s blessing and that their expenses would be left to him personally. None took his offer. The Fusiliers again had inept Lyran officers to deal with. During the Liao-Marik Offensive, the 3rd Donegal Guards were soundly beaten on Styk by House Imara. Leutnant-General Thanom Hammerskjold took the loss particularly hard. Always over-confident and arrogant, the General was now bitter, angry, and looking at the loss of his command. Abusing the Quartermaster Corps, slowing shipments almost to standstill, and replacing the Fusilier’s Mercenary Liaison twice in 2 months, the General attempted to bring the Fusiliers to heel and punished Colonel Fels personally for his perceived slight to the Lyran state. A skirmish broke out between the Fusilier Home Guard and Lyran infantry forces, and the order was given to warm BattleMech fusion engines, though no shots were fired. What happened next is officially classified, and only the General and Colonel Fels know precisely what was said, but after leaving the General’s office, Theodore was taken to Fusilier medical staff with a broken hand, and Hammerskjold was relieved of command a week later. Eager to leave unwelcoming stooges behind them, the Fusiliers transferred to the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon. Close to home again, Theodore wanted to be on the front-lines and lobbied Morgan Kell personally to sign off and advise raids to be taken by the Fusiliers. Multiple attacks on Jade Falcon and Wolf holdings continued to sharpen the Fusilier’s edge, and the equipment gained filled the Fusilier’s ‘Mech bays and coffers. Now an A rated outfit, Theodore went about upgrading the unit’s machines and support personnel. Upgrading to a new NightStar ‘Mech for the Colonel was the first, but the addition of a new Leopard-class and Gazelle-class DropShips allowed the entirety of the Fusiliers to move without using state equipment. The Fusiliers were again totally independent of House control. The Fusiliers took this opportunity to train with the elite Kell Hounds, Clan Wolf (in-exile), and Victor-loyal mercenary commands to heart, and command, skill, and morale were at all-time highs. The unit was comprised of 2 ‘Mech companies, 2 Armor companies, and a Fighter Sqaudron. Joining up again with Victor at Tukkayid, the Fusiliers were not an official part of the ComStar hosted War Games of 3058, but Colonel Fels himself was there with the Archon-Prince when he received the message from his sister of the Jade Falcon excursion. He left with the Prince to Coventry, while attempting to contact home. Theodore had left in command the headstrong Captain Lee Ellis, and taking the opportunity of the Jade Falcon Incursion at Coventry, the Captain led the Fusiliers ‘Mech contingent in a disastrous raid on Winfield. Freed from Conventry by accepting Heigra, Clan Jade Falcon returned to their Occupation Zone garrisons ready to fight Clan Wolf. Finding mercenaries there incensed the warriors and led to only half of the Fusiliers returning, minus the “Benfled Pride” Gazelle DropShip. After reasserting command, cleaning house of the less-than-desirables, and personally showing Captain Ellis where the door was, Col. Fels had to prove that the Fusiliers were worth the time, money, and equipment they were given. Though not on the short list of commands asked to join Taskforce Serpent or Bulldog, the Fusiliers were none the less tasked with keeping appearances of a normal Clan Front. If any Clansmen suspected the coming attacks, all would be for naught, and the destruction of the Smoke Jaguars could fall apart. The Fusiliers were to join with a few other smaller commands and raid the border worlds. At the same time Operation Bird Dog was softening up the Smoke Jaguars, The Fusiliers raided deep into Jade Falcon and Wolf Occupation Zones. Baker 3, La Grave, Skandia, Domain, Montmarault, and Orkney were all targeted. These planets were chosen because Intel had placed smaller garrison clusters on the planets, and as ex-Lyran worlds, the Fusiliers would have access to maps and information on the planets, though not troop movements. After landing on Baker 3, the Fusiliers continued to hone their Clan tactics. The Falcons granted safecon, but did not adhere to zellbrigin as a rule. A few challenges were issued, and honored, as long as the mercenaries did the same. Only a Trinary was on planet, and the Fusiliers were able to neutralize them effectively. Damaging the 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster, and getting off planet relatively unscathed, they left planet with a new Fire Falcon. La Grave went well also, though the loss of an Armor lance was due to the greater than expected experience of the 18th Falcon Regulars. Also, the freeborn warriors of the 18th did not feel the mercenary commands deserved any leeway. They fought hard for every meter the task force took, but in the end gave up their defensive positions. To keep up the ruse of normal raids, the mercenaries hit whatever production caches they could, and salvage taken by the Fusiliers was put to good use. The addition of Clan equipment would be useful in the battles to come. The Wolf Clan was less willing to abide by the Clans own rules. Already on edge for the aborted attacks on the Jade Falcons less than a year earlier, the Wolf warriors were hungry to test their mettle. On Skanida, the Wolves not only did not follow Clan rules, they actively emulated their Inner Sphere cousins. Hidden traps, Elemental ambushes, and mass firings welcomed the Fusiliers to the planet. One ‘Mech company, including Die Lanze and The Hammers were caught in a pincer attack, and had to be saved by the Peregrine's Hussars. The Fusiliers quickly left the planet, and were forced to cancel their plans for more attacks. Domain was to be the last raid. Unknown to them, the Green Keshik, command Binary of Theta Galaxy, had rotated to Domain and was to be their last hurdle before returning home. The Peregrine's Hussars and Lindon’s Battalion continued on to Montmarault and Orkney. While only a Binary, the Keshik was filled with elite troops. Made up of 9 ‘Mechs and 2 Aerospace fighters, the entire Fusilier command faced off with them. The Air Wing and DropShip support was able to take out the point of Clan fighters, but were badly damaged and were not able to be a factor in the ground fight. The lighter elements of ‘Mechs were able to hide from the hard hitting Clan ‘Mechs, while the heavy lances forced the Clan warriors to wither from their long range fire. Forced backwards, the Wolves were hit from behind, and unable to turn and face them without exposing their backs to the heavier forces. The Wolves fought to the last man, a few fighting to their deaths to avoid dishonorably losing to the mercenaries. With Operation Bulldog a surprisingly quick victory, the Fusiliers were hoping to join their comrades on the Exodus Road and take the fight to the Clan Homeworlds. Unfortunately, their loses were severe enough to keep them from the Great Refusal. While the garrison of Bountiful Harvest was uneventful, training with The Dioscuri mercenary command proved fruitful for both units. The latest battle the Fusiliers have taken part in is still being disseminated and fully understood. The Hell’s Horses Clan took part in the so called Harvest Trials, retaining their identity, but giving the Wolves tactical control of Hell’s Hoses units. One such unit, the 45th Mechanized Strike Cluster, was moved up as quickly as possible. The Fusiliers attacked Domain again, expecting it to be lightly or not at all defended. The 45th had spread out over 4 planets and Domain was now protected by a Hell’s Horses SuperNova. Not wishing to be bogged down in another meat grinder with the Clans, Theodore issued a batchall and was greeted with a bid: 1 ‘Mech, Theodore himself, against a single vehicle, commanded by Nova Commander Analia Mitchell. Unknown to Theodore, a few Warden Clansmen had offered to journey to the Inner Sphere, and Mitchell herself was taken by the rebirth of the Star League. Winning the Trial with a close range Gauss Rifle hit, Theodore took possession of the Hell’s Horses new Outpost DropShip, and “whatever’s inside.” Mitchell had responded to the Fusilier’s challenge while inside the Dropship, and made it clear to her Clan brethren of her plans. 2 Gnome-Elementals and 2 points worth of Armor crews joined her. The expansion of the Fusiliers made up for their losses from the border raids and allows the Fusiliers a chance to bring the fight to whoever threatens their homes. Fury's Fusiliers To&E See Fury's Fusiliers TO&E Category:MercenaryCommandsCustom Category:Fury's Fusiliers